Above is the supposed contact list for the DRB and Planning Commission. If these links fail to work, blame the board members for participating in the super-secret government run my Manross and Dolan.

If you have any questions concerning any planned projects, don't hesitate to contact the ones above who make the decisions.

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On Saturday May 31^st of 2008 the editors of the Scottsdale Tribune ran an opinion from Lisa Haskell. (McCullagh, candidate of conviction and character)

While I can understand that residents and taxpayers are busy with their own lives and families, and may not have the time to be as involved with candidates platforms as other residents and taxpayers are, there has to be some balance of information that those people can read in our local media opinions pages.

The writer of the article had three questions that she would pose to all candidates running for office and the problem is that those are the same questions that residents of southern Scottsdale have been asking for over 4 years. We already know the track records and responses of sitting council members such as Mr. McCullagh who have been in office for the last 4 years and still have never broached a response to any of the questions she asked; but yet the writer will throw her support to one of the people who should have already responded to these questions and never has?

Nearly 8 years ago the residents of the south asked the city what was the plan for "revitalization" of the south and to date still have no answers or plans.

Nearly 6 years ago we asked the city to start long range planning for the eventual demise of the motor mile which will happen at some point in time and to date we still have no plans for the future of that area.

The writer still laments about how we have to help SkySong succeed but does not mention that the taxpayers are already helping with an outrageous 200 year ground lease, over ^$120 million in subsidy support from the taxpayers and the real question should be; How much more should we have to help a private arrangement of this nature?

In the end, the writer exclaims why she would support Mr. McCullagh based on no past expertise on answering or coming forward with answers to her questions.

Mr. McCullagh wants to earmark ^$10 million dollars to threaten a private water company with condemnation for flaws that have been corrected by the State and the Federal Government leaving ^$10 million dollars of taxpayer’s money unusable for other things like the completion of parks that are under funded and street and sidewalk repairs that are lacking in the city.

For that matter, ^$10 million dollars has been withheld from other projects so the Manross Council Majority can threaten a private company in which Mr. McCullagh, part of that council majority, has a vested interest as one of their disgruntled customers.

Finally, Councilman McCullagh who properly filled out his campaign contribution reports from his first run for office, knowingly tried to hide his contributions in this re-election from developers, land investors from out of state, real-estate owners, bankers, and basically anyone from other than Scottsdale.

Once confronted by formal complaints to the city clerk it was clearly noted that Mr. McCullagh even stated that he submitted the reports in this manner because his campaign contributors asked not to be identified.

Sorry, but these were clearly violations of State campaign finance laws in which even the city letter to the councilman made it clear that they were not even sure if he had clearly followed the process but since he amended his statement after city demand, the issue was overlooked.

The real question I have is "how could anyone vote for a candidate that has not answered your questions for over 4 years, then subverts the laws of the state, uses his seat in office to threaten a private company that has corrected an issue they had occur, and all the while has taken away the possibility of using that 10 million dollars for other issues the residents ask the city to take care of in which the city says we don’t have the funds?"

Michael Merrill
480-946-1809
f8713@aol.com

Earlier this week the Tribune published an editorial attempting to justify and minimize the court decisions denying Scottsdale voters the opportunity to vote on the Hanover and Unjust Dust referendums, despite the fact that both efforts collected more than enough valid signatures to put these items on the ballot.  The editorial makes it clear that the Tribune editorial board sees no problem with justice going to the highest bidder -- if ordinary citizens do not have enough money to fight powerful special interests the Tribune editorial board sees no problem with that.

In this editorial the Tribune implied that those Scottsdale residents who are "concerned about zoning issues" may be "paper tigers" who incumbent Council candidates may safely ignore.  This ignores, of course, the fact that literally thousands of Scottsdale voters demonstrated their concerns about the direction that the current majority on the City Council is taking Scottsdale by investing the time and effort to sign these two referendum petitions. 

But the editorial does make one good point, which is that in the upcoming City Council elections on September 2^nd we have an opportunity to change this direction.  This year we have two truly citizen and neighborhood friendly candidates (Nan Nesvig and Tom Giller) on the ballot.  Nesvig and Giller have proven that they are willing to work hard to preserve Scottsdale’s special character and quality of life – their leadership on the Hanover referendum alone is proof of that.  They both represent the kind of positive change that we desperately need on the Council.  If these two candidates are elected we can reverse the destruction of Scottsdale’s special character that has marked most of the Council decisions for the last two years.

The bottom line is that the Tribune editorial challenges those of us who are concerned about the direction that the current majority on the City Council is taking Scottsdale to put up or shut up.  That means that this moment of great opportunity – an opportunity to effect meaningful change in Scottsdale city government – is also a moment of great challenge.  That challenge is, will those of us who want to preserve Scottsdale’s special character and our quality of life must be willing to do what it takes to make sure our candidates have a fair shot to win, or will we just sit on our hands and complain about how bad things are?

So far the outlook is positive.  In the last few months hundreds of concerned citizens have collected thousands of signatures for referendums and candidates challenging the status quo.  Certainly Nan and Tom will continue to need volunteers over the next three months to walk neighborhoods, hand out flyers and organize neighborhood meetings and coffees.

But electing these good candidates to the City Council will require more than volunteers, it will require money.  With the city elections now being held in September along with the national and state elections the costs to reach potential voters will soar.  The establishment (many of whom are making an excellent living off of the unmanaged, special-interest friendly growth that the current majority on the City Council promotes) will see to it that their candidates are well-funded and have all the resources they need to wage their campaigns.  They will literally be swimming in special-interest money and will get all the free publicity they want from the local establishment newsletters pretending to be newspapers.

This is a defining moment – the 2008 city elections are crucial to the future of Scottsdale, and that future will be decided by those citizens who make the effort to get involved.  If you want Scottsdale to stay a special place in which to live that we all love you need to actively support good candidates for Council.  If we let this opportunity to change city government slip through our fingers we may never get another chance.

Councilman Bob Littlefield
bob@boblittlefield.com

Ah, the elusive "Craven Weasels", distinguishable by the blinding speed with which they can change coloration in response to changing political considerations, political seasons, and promises to the voting citizens never to be uttered again or consummated for that matter; to the apparently deaf, dumb & blind supporters hoping for possible post election remuneration or favors (win or lose).

These "Craven Weasels", now with "shill" weasel extraordinaire Kevin Osterman back playing with them in the dirty black mud, who slither and slink around the "dark side" differ greatly from the common, open air loving, every day weasel.

Common weasels are playful, honest, upfront with their intentions, and are very friendly and fun to deal and communicate with. They tell it like it is and follow the law to the letter, not trying to reinvent or circumvent the law as the "Craven Weasels" seem to do on a regular basis to make their supporting developers and builders happy.

The favorite food of the common weasel has been known to be rats, sometimes of the dirty rotten kind, as well as "Craven Weasels" from time to time when necessary during the election season. Usually, common weasels need to take a full dose of Tums and Beano to rid themselves of all the hot air and noxious gas coming from the consumption of said "Craven Weasels".

It would appear that we are again seeing the "coming out" of these secretive nefarious creatures. "Craven Weasels" camp unseen and unheard in political office and do their dirty deeds in secret Executive Sessions as well as in darkened offices deep within the bowels of city hall until election season at which time they "spin" what they HAVE NOT done into these glorious deeds of fabulous and grandiose proportions (accomplished by others) which even their staunchest supporters cannot recognize at first blush!

Even the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce and Rick Kidder gives these "Craven Weasels" a solid backing much to the chagrin of many of their members.

Some of these glorious deeds include:

Citizen driven but government dreaded Referendums and the firing of Jan Dolan being the only bright spots so far this year.…………. even though the referendums are now apparently going to appeal.

Need we go on to mention the other disasters we, the taxpayers, have had to pay for and endure under the incumbent "Craven Weasels" currently holding public office? Oh MY!!!

The elections are coming: Beware those incumbent "Craven Weasels" currently in office and vote them out of office.

Last weeks Scottsdale Activist published an Editorial pointing out the massive ^$274 Million taxpayer dollars unnecessarily spent by the Manross Administration including a map of where the money was spent.

Little did anyone know how massive this spending had grown because none of the local print media would dare print it in the same article because of possible nasty phone calls from "Her Highness" Mary, Queen of Scottsdale and her paltry number of remaining loyal knaves?

We have some excellent candidates running for council seats and we feel the extremely negative effects against the perpetrators of the nasty tricks against Nan Nesvig last election will cause them to stop and think twice before trying it again and rightfully so.

The only challenges necessary in our mind would be where fraud and total dishonesty is proved to be the case within the stated period defined by law.

The voters and citizens want people on the ballot who are credible and want to be there to serve the citizens. They don’t want the incumbent "Craven Weasels" back in office who currently bend over backwards allowing private lobbying of the DRB, Planning Commission and City Council for the developers and money people through likes of the purveyors of perceived favors and lobbied council votes such as congressional candidate Susan Bitter-Smith, Technical Solutions and zoning attorney John Berry.

Sure, Bitter-Smith, Technical Solutions, and Berry should be allowed to ply their trades, but let’s do it in the light of day, truthfully, and not what seems to be done deep in the darkened bowels of city hall where the public is not invited to participate or even learn about the possibility of deals being worked out until after the fact.

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………..and they will gleefully tell you that if you ask; they "own" the city according to them, without exception. But YOU can change that!!

Of late though, honest and very knowledgeable Activists have been giving them some serious heartburn when they catch them trying to make their own rules with the help of Manross, the incumbent council majority, the DRB, and our apparently incompetent legal staff.

It was more than obvious during the two successful referendum attempts that those with the "gold" didn’t want anything on the ballot that could challenge their favorite and developer-friendly mayor and council majority incumbents who do everything and anything they can to keep those with the "gold" happy and donating to their campaigns.

Attorney Tom Irvine makes some of his living off of those with the "gold" because none of us common folk can afford him. You don’t suppose Congressional candidate Susan Bitter-Smith and Technical Solutions are working on the same track as Attorneys Irvine and Berry are do you?

It’s truly a shame that the voters of Scottsdale are cheated on a regular basis by either the council majority or those with the "gold" who want what they want when they want it, and are willing to pay the price, citizens be damned.

That happens because the common citizens don’t have the "gold" because they are the hard working stiffs who make up the vast majority of the population of the city and pay by far the most taxes. It’s also because of the increased water, sewer, trash, and taxes which are increasing much faster than the cost of living because of those with the "gold" who are trying to drive us "commoners" out of town so they can build Scottsdale into the sky without any objections.

In many minds, the court system and certain judges seem to be capitulating to those with the "gold" and those who can make sure they too are returned to their positions on the bench. For all appearances, rank and file citizens don’t stand a chance in some courts when the city or those with the "gold" are involved as their opposition.

It’s time for a change in the courts too isn't it?

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 ~ The Manross Slight of Hand (and Mouth)

If you want to get sick to your stomach, take a look at the Mayor’s campaign website. This woman tries to come off as the champion of the city along with Betty Drake and Ron McCullagh. They have done everything in and for Scottsdale. Oh Really??

If you read her so-called accomplishments and have lived in Scottsdale for even 5 years, you’ll see she had absolutely nothing to do with most of those items listed and was only a marginal part or part time supporter of the rest of them.

 ~ SkySong

The only "accomplishment" she can truly claim as her very own is the controversial and very costly SkySong on 42 acres of the best commercial and most expensive piece of land in south Scottsdale at the S/E corner of Scottsdale and McDowell Roads from which we receive ZERO property taxes or city income from sales taxes.

Manross was instrumental in voiding or ignoring 2 public votes to build the Coyotes Hockey Arena, and the Wal*Mart, Sam’s Club & Lowes or Home Depot complex which both would have added huge retail sales tax revenue to the city.

The SkySong complex will never do that and has not added anything to the buildablilty of the area except to artificially double the value of all commercial property and raise the height and density limits even though the council promised that would never happen.

Manross and the council majority was also on the approval side of adding up to 800+ residential components to the site when they were never discussed with the public until ASUF brought up the issue.

Watch them become college dorms for ASU. The city will see ZERO revenue from the residential units also because of the way our legal department finagled the agreement and its vague and misleading verbiage.

Oh yeah, where is the retail we were promised on the ground floors of Manross's SkySong? It sure isn’t there in any of the buildings now is it (See picture above)?

 ~ Los Arcos Crossing (now Centrovida, failing)

Then you have what used to be Los Arcos Crossing, a very successful area of multiple types of businesses including Basha's Market , Bright Eye's Optical company, a Gym and a multitude of smaller businesses that were well attended and in turn served the community well. Now comes Mayor Manross with SkySong which artificially doubled the value of commercial properties and also opened the door to heights exceeding those designated by the General Plan for the area.

An investor thought he would "cut a fat hog" and take advantage of the Manross error (or maybe it was planned which is probably much more correct) to make buckets of money. Well, the citizens found out about him wanting to raise heights and densities as well as reduce the amount of promised retail by over 50% and questioned the process and the project which made Manross furious that anyone would have the audacity to question her plans (of course as per Manross always does, she'll deny all of that part).

So now here we sit with an empty once vibrant business center of approximately 35 acres which is deteriorating on a daily basis because of poor planning and having taken the citizens for granted. We have also lost even more sales tax revenue thanks to Mayor Manross and her senseless meddling.

 ~ Papago Plaza

Word has it and empty store front seem to verify that the owner is escalating the rents to levels that most small businesses cannot afford so as to drive them out, only to be replaced by what we guess will be high end Boutiques. Wrong, not here, they'll never survive with escalated rents.

 ~ Motor Mile

Ah yes, the answer to the woes of McDowell Road was "Feed the Dealers". Well here's what happened: Toyota is gone, Scottsdale Nissan is moving this month, Audi has gone to Chandler. The others will leave as the manufacturers demand higher volumes which can only be achieved where dealers are located near freeways; end of Motor Mile as we know it.

What has the neighborhood worried is what is Manross and the council majority are planning for the area which we won't know about until after they make the deal.

 ~ Other Losses

Brunners Furniture, A Texaco Station and other small businesses.

 ~ What Manross DIDN'T Bring to the South

She will still take credit for Lowe's, Walgreen's, Big "O" Tires, Heard Chevrolet, the new Senior Center and the Senior housing (which is priced way higher than originally planned) and other new businesses even though she had nothing to do with any of them at all.

They came by the way of standard business decisions based on good capital investments and returns thereto, not subsidies, height, density or changes in the General Plan with the exception of the new Senior Center and Senior Living areas which were strictly citizen driven.

 ~ Manross Claims are All Provable Hog Wash

Manross claims the Preserve as her own yet she and her council majority allowed ^$274 million taxpayer dollars be spent foolishly on things that have all gone "in the toidy" instead of finishing the Preserve and building the Discovery Center as they could have.

 ~ Your Vision for Scottsdale

Think about this as you contemplate what your "vision" for Scottsdale is, where you would like your city to go, or if you are going to leave the city because of the problems and high costs caused primarily by those with the "gold".

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It’s getting rather obvious that there are Good Guys and Bad Guys in the business of Real Estate within the city of Scottsdale.

Being that I was a Realtor^® and Broker in 2 states for over 20 years and held my clients and customers in the greatest of esteem, I finding that doesn’t exist as much as it used to in times past. Offices have grown so big, there can be as many as 2,500 Realtor^® Agents working under one Broker. With that come many problems which are almost uncontrollable unless the Broker constantly reviews the practices of his Agents and demands quality, not quantity by having bi-weekly or monthly meeting reaffirming the rules and regulations of the Brokerage as well as the State.

Today’s Realtors^® who work very hard make a fair to good living selling homes, land, commercial ground, businesses and just plain "dirt" (undeveloped rural land) but it is a feast or famine business as many are seeing now.

Generally and although negotiable, Realtor^® fees from the Sellers on residential real estate can be from 1.5% for selling another agents listing, to a full 6% (sometimes higher) if the agent sells his own listing and works for a Broker who "sells" him or her a desk but doesn’t take any of the commission from a sale.

On a ^$300,000 sale, that would be ^$18,000 to a 6% sale or as little(?) as ^$4,500 for a 1.5% commission. For an everyday citizen, ^$4,500 would be a nice monthly income all by itself.

With that in mind, you would think that Realtors^® would take serious pride in the appearance of the properties they have listed for sale. Even more so, you would think that the Real Estate Brokers would be even more intent on keeping listed properties presentable so their sign didn’t project a uncaring and unprofessional advertisement of the way their company feels about their company name and worse yet, the client’s property.

In my days as a Realtor^® and then as a Real Estate Broker for 17 years. I made sure all properties I represented were "saleable" and inviting even if I had to mow the lawn, trim the shrubs and water the place myself which I did numerous times. Again, not so today by what we’ve seen in today’s marketplace. The Agents appear to be lazy in many cases like this one below.

The above property is located on a corner on 86^th Street south of McDonald. I called the Broker and politely asked if he could do something about the condition of the property because it was affecting the values in the neighborhood. His answer was simple: I don’t have time to follow every listing and besides, it’s the Seller’s responsibility if he wants to sell the property, not ours. I suggested that his sign said he as a Licensed Real Estate Broker didn’t care, which made him angry. He got angrier when I suggested I would put the property in a website exposing Realtors^® and Real Estate Brokers who didn’t care about the neighborhood to which he replied, whatever; end of conversation.

As a retired Real Estate Broker, I find it unconscionable for any Realtor^® or Designated Real Estate Broker to allow any property to fall into disrepair, especially when the Company's sign is in prominently in place on the property.

In contrast, there are some very good Realtors^® who do an excellent job of keeping their listed properties in saleable conditions as seen below.

Before you list your property with any Realtor^®, ask the Agent for a list of other properties in your area they have so you can see how they do business. Almost all Realtors^® belong to a Multiple Listing Service so it really doesn’t matter whether you list with a huge office or a small one who can show you recorded results for a reasonable period of time, say 90 or 120 days, as long as they belong to a MLS^®. Excellent results are what you are after and the size or advertising an office does are basically irrelevant in most cases.

If you are the "Seller" of a property, the agent who lists your property for sale as well as the Broker under whom he works has a fiduciary (legal) responsibility to observe all State laws, rules and regulations concerning the legal contract you will sign in confidence. This means that there can be issues which can be privy between you and the agent relating to your bottom price, terms, what’s included in the sale, etc, but cannot include anything structural (bad roof, sewer or water pipes problems, mold, electrical, foundation cracks, etc.) or anything that could change the value of the property if known publicly (freeway coming within a short distance, an airport close or expanding, hidden fissures in the earth, a more expensive or less expensive subdivision coming soon, etc).

On the other hand, if you are working with a Realtor^® as a "Buyer", be fully aware that the Agents Fiduciary (legal) obligation is still to the "Seller", not to you as the "Buyer" at all unless you have negotiated a signed "Buyers Broker" agreement with the Broker of the agent with whom you are working. The agent with whom you are working as a Buyer is disallowed from giving you any of the Sellers confidential information under penalty of law and can be prosecuted for doing so.

An example of an illegal statement would be: "The seller has suggested that he would really take ^$20,000 less just to get it sold, but I didn't tell you that did I?" unless it is specifically written on the official property listing.

A "Buyers Broker Agreement" is a legally enforceable document making the Agent with whom you are working have a fiduciary (legal) obligation to you and you alone, not the Seller. It allows you the advantage of your Agent being able to uncover and release to you any and all information they can legally glean form public records, neighbors, and any other legal sources of information available, including the Seller if he is advised in advance of the Buyers Broker Agreement.

It doesn’t matter how many listings or sales a Real Estate office has. What really matters is how many listings does your Agent have,  how many has he/she sold and in what time frame, how close were the actual sales to the original listed price.

Don’t allow a silver tongued Realtor^® to talk you into something you don’t want or to do something you don’t agree with. There are thousands or Realtors^® out there who are honest and go by the rules. Search them out.

You don’t need to list your property with Mr. Hot-Shot, then never see him/her again, nor see anyone come by to see the home you are so proud of and are trying to sell.

Do your homework and don’t be afraid to demand what you want and settle on a Realtor^® who promises by his/her signature on the contract that they will comply with your demands. If you don’t have contact with the Agent on at least a weekly basis, cancel the contract without any conditions attached.

You don’t need to honor anything you didn’t agree to in writing in the legal contract you signed. Never sign an agreement to honor an agent showing the home to a potential Buyer for a period exceeding 10 days from the date the home was shown should you cancel the listing.

Be fully aware that if you "Steal" an Agents client or customer, you could be legally liable for the full commission and any legal costs for the Agent to recover an "Earned" fee because the Agent registered and presented the Buyer to your listed home prior to the end of the listing, and you (as the Seller) circumvented the Agent by telling the Buyer on the sly that you can make him a better deal without a commission being paid as soon as the listing runs out. The same thing goes for a Buyer that tries to make a similar side deal with the Seller.

 ~Important Definitions:

A "Client" is the legally contracted person such as an Agent working for the Seller with a legal fiduciary obligation only to the Seller, or a legally contracted Buyers Broker working solely with a Buyer.

A "Customer" is a person working with the Sellers Agent where the legal obligation of the Agent is to the Seller, not the Customer. In some cases, it could be the Seller is the "Customer" if they are dealing with a Buyer represented by a contracted Buyers Broker.

A "Customer", by law, must be treated fairly and with respect, but does not have the advantage of any fiduciary or legal obligation afforded a contracted Seller.

If you have problems with any Realtor^®, and can not get any satisfaction by talking to the Designated Broker of the Realtor^®, report them to the Arizona Department of Real Estate.

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~ Concerning Negligent Banks & Lenders

Although they are fully responsible for properties in foreclosure, many lenders and banks will not maintain properties until a lawsuit is filed by the city in which the property is located with the issuance of an Abatement Notice by the city as seen below.

The property involved, located on the west side of Granite Reef near Mohave School, has been vacant since legally posted on the front door in March of ’08 by an agency dealing in foreclosure proceedings. It is currently owned or controlled by CMM Investment Properties 11619 N 12th Pl. Phoenix AZ, 85020-1222. It was probably vacant prior to that date but we don’t know. There was never any action on the property by Code Enforcement until after Jan Dolan was fired as City Manager, which tells us something all by itself.
 

 

 

As you can see from the picture above, the property is in very bad condition and the backyard is even worse and will be a distinct fire hazard within days due to the dry weather and high heat expected.

It wouldn’t hurt to write a letter to the offending company and express your views on their failure to clean up the property, thereby affecting the value of both your and their property.

The city will take abatement actions on or about June 24^th and charge the title holder for the costs of cleaning up the property and the continuation of any service afforded to keep the property representative of the neighborhood.

 ~Is there anything you can do?

If you know who the bank or lending institution is on a foreclosed property, call them and politely insist they clean up the property. If they give you a hard time, report the conversation and the person with whom you spoke to Code Enforcement so they can take immediate Abatement Notice action.

Any time you see a property in less than presentable condition and it violates city Codes or ordinances for blight or safety, call the Code Enforcement Hot Line at (480) 312-2546 or Fax: (480) 312-2455 giving them the exact condition of the property, the condition you are calling about, and whether it is vacant or not (DO NOT illegally enter the property under any condition unless there is a eminent danger of a serious problem); if that is the case, call the police or the fire department immediately BEFORE any entry is performed.

You can also contact Code Enforcement on the web to file a complain at:

https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/servicerequest/CEViolation.asp

Since the firing of Jan Dolan, we have seen a huge improvement in the response times and attitudes of the department with a few notable exceptions which are currently under discussion with Raun Keagy and some citizens, the new General Manager of the Department and Assistant City Manager David Ellison.

~ New, Speedy Actions Appreciated

Code Enforcement has been instrumental in cleaning up some issues that had been reported during the Dolan era and were still hanging around unsolved. After Dolan was fired, the problems miraculously (actually with the untied hands and hard work of Raun Keagy) were cleaned up quickly and the department is back on a much better footing with the citizens as well as being much more receptive and responsive in most cases.

They have legally administered the long awaited required legal procedures and conditions to change the El Dorado Bar as requested (or not requested) by the owner with the help of Mike Merrill and Nancy Cantor who both have the complete history of the property having lived very close to it when it was the International House of Pancakes 50 years ago.

Code Enforcement is trying to catch up after 8 years of their hands being tightly tied by Dolan as are other departments who also were micro managed by Dolan with anything but unsatisfactory results and lots of employee frustration and forced attrition.

Now, if we could get back to Great Pro-Active Customer Service like we had Pre Dolan and Pre Malcolm Hankins, we’ll be in good shape, relatively speaking. I think the employees would be elated and most appreciative for that change to occur also. We know for a fact that the citizens would be also.

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 ~ City Actions of Interest

Editors Note: The Scottsdale Activist would like to sincerely thank Chairperson Sonnie Kirtley and the COGS Board for providing our readers and the Scottsdale citizens with the following information. COGS is a wonderful volunteer citizens organization that is constantly looking out for the best interest of taxpayers and citizens in the entire city of Scottsdale.

This information is sent to you by your Coalition of Greater Scottsdale Board of Directors
Sonnie Kirtley, Chairperson
602-717-3886 anytime

This past week has been busy with business applications, conditional use permits for bars and entertainment, schools in church properties, etc.  Scan through the addresses.  Locate any of interest to you and your family. Go to the website for case details:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/projects.asp

394-PA-2008
UP Request
Bambini Dual Language Pre-school
4300 N. 82nd St. 

Request: the existing Bethany Lutheran Church would like to rent their facilities to Bambini Dual Language School to open a day-care school. Hours/days of operation for the pre-school will be Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM, and serve children 2-5 years old.

434-PA-2008
PP Request
Unit 201 Split
6401 E. Thomas Rd.

Request: amend the Arcadia Commons sub-division plat (760-03) in order to split Unit 201 into two separate Units -Unit 201A and 201B

New Planning Commission and City Council Cases

Date Submitted	Case Numbers	Case Name/Description	Coordinator Name
06/03/2008	13-UP-2008 440-PA-2008	The Myriad of Scottsdale 7345 E. Earll Drive Request a Conditional Use Permit for Live Entertainment for an event facility located at 7345 E. Earll Drive with Highway Commercial (C-3) zoning.	Mac Cummins, AICP

06/05/2008	14-UP-2008 283-PA-2008	Whisper Lounge 4301 N. Civic Center Request approval for a conditional use permit for a bar at 4301 N. Civic Center Plaza; with a C-3, P-3, P-2, DO zoning.	Mac Cummins, AICP
06/05/2008	15-UP-2008 250-PA-2008	Martini Park 15037 N. Scottsdale Rd. Suite J1-100 Scottsdale 85260 Request approval for a bar use permit at the NEC of Scottsdale and Butherus, 15037 N. Scottsdale Rd. Suite J1-100.	Louisa Garbo, AICP
06/05/2008	16-UP-2008 250-PA-2008	Martini Park 15037 N. Scottsdale Rd. Suite J1-100. Request approval for a live entertainment use permit at 15037 N. Scottsdale Rd. Suite J1-100.	Louisa Garbo, AICP

06/06/2008

12-ZN-2004#2 650-PA-2003

Miller & McDonald 5985 N Miller Road (Southeast corner of McDonald Drive & Miller Road) Request approval to amend the approved site plan at 5985 N Miller Road (Southeast corner of McDonald Drive & Miller Road) and modify stipulations.

Mac Cummins, AICP

New Development Review Board Cases

Date Submitted	Case Numbers	Case Name/Description	Coordinator Name
06/04/2008	36-DR-2008 677-PA-2007	Alltel Pima & Thompson Peak Parkway 9510 E THOMPSON PEAK PKWY request approval of a 24 tall stealth wfc - faux suguaro with underground equipment vault in the open space adjacent to the DC Ranch Golf Club	Keith Niederer

New Board of Adjustment Cases

Date Submitted	Case Numbers	Case Name/Description	Coordinator Name
06/02/2008	2-BA-2008 275-PA-2008	Allen Garage Addition 7513 N. Via de Los Libros Requesting variance to setbacks for garage addition	Bryan Cluff

 ~OTHER INFORMATION

Scottsdale road streetscape guidelines were approved at DRB 6/5: 

The case 77-DR-2007 Scottsdale Road Streetscape Design Guidelines was unanimously approved in the 6/5 meeting. It "provides streetscape design direction for the entire 25-mile length of the Scottsdale Road corridor. The design guidelines provide general principles for the streetscape overall, as well as more specific recommendations for each segment of the corridor". 

Divided into definable segments: 

As stated in a COGS News Update a couple of days ago, Scottsdale Rd is divided into 6 segments--each getting its own colors, materials, benches, and intensified plantings. Sidewalks were described to remain "normal concrete because of special needs [handicap walkers and chairs plus the visually impaired] requirements".  There will be accent paving with colored lithocrete and water/sandblasted surfaces.

Traffic changes: (a) speeds--It is designed for speeds of 45 to 55 mph but the speed limit will vary from 35 to 45 mph (b) lanes-- lanes vary from four to six travel lanes plus a center median. It describes intersections that widen up to 9 lanes wide for two additional left turn lanes in some segments.

Discussions included lane reduction through the Downtown segment to increase pedestrian sidewalks and small sitting/eating "plazas". [Slide 23 of the city's Downtown Plan Update PowerPoint shows a reduction in lanes concept to accommodate the needed pedestrian space] As many citizens recall, the DRB and the Planning Commission have consistently approved construction abutting the sidewalk with no setback in southern Scottsdale. (c) right-of-way-- varies from 77 to 120 ft in Downtown then 130 to 150 ft north of Frank Lloyd Wright. The problem is the narrow 77 feet from 5th Avenue Shops through Old Town.

Watch for the Development Review Board video on the City Channel 11 when it becomes available this week.

Comments on observing the development review board:

Two of the applicants failed to use current building plans projected for the presentation and on the Commissioners' desk for review.  Chair Wayne Ecton requested that the staff coordinator make sure the DRB members had them for future meetings.  Question: How can an application be carefully scrutinized if the DRB doesn't have all the details prior to the meeting? Also, a special thank you to Commissioner Barnett is in order.  He challenged the architectural design for the Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car project at 2420 N. Scottsdale Road Case 82-DR-2007. [It looked like the old Jack n the Box without the signage]. That was continued indefinitely so the architect--who was much chagrin--can go back to the drawing board.

Waterview/Solis update:

None. 

The developer has NOT initiated contact with any residents of the East Arcadia area or the immediate WaterView area as anticipated by Acting City Manager, John Little

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~ Give All City Departments Time

Let’s try to give all city departments some time to readjust to post Dolan conditions and to get over the phobia of having to keep a tight lid on everything because of maniacal retributions from Dolan, the mayor and from the council majority.

Citizens are finding more an more that the department heads are much more open to suggestions and those departments are taking on issues they would not have dared think of doing under Dolan.

The Wicked Witch is finally gone.

Let’s get the city back to normal through open bilateral communications with the citizens and staff. It won't be easy and the road could get rocky depending on the outcome of the coming election. Pick new but knowledgeable people, and things will get better much quicker because the old tunnel vision will be gone. The sun will finally shine in again in Scottsdale.

The only stumbling block now is Dolan indoctrinated Assistant City Manager and Director of HR Neal Shearer who seems to be causing more trouble than he is worth and should be fully investigated himself for the documented off site interrogations of city and contracted employees without allowing them to have any representation of any kind.

This was a gross miscarriage of justice by Shearer and Frank Gray and it deserves a full investigation and possible firing of Mr. Shearer for malfeasance and misconduct in office. Mr. Gray should not be isolated from such actions either.

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~Letters to the Editor  

 ~ Where is My Scottsdale?

Before I get started, let me apologize for the length of this letter. I have a lot to say and I’ll try to keep it as short as possible, and hopefully you can print it in its entirety.

I graduated from Saguaro High School in 1985. We used to go to Casella’s Italian Deli on the weekends or sometimes during the week when we weren’t in school. We also used to take our out of state visitors to Rawhide or the "Big Flush" (Big Surf?) which was always a lot of fun and "Very Scottsdale". We were very proud that we lived in a World Class City thanks to Mayor Herb Drinkwater and his administrations, and especially his "vision" of the future Scottsdale which he would share openly with anyone who would listen.

After graduation, I left Scottsdale for the east coast for my education and to pursue my career. I came back to Scottsdale to visit for a longer period that just an "in and out" visit last month. I was extremely disappointed and shocked to see that the city I loved and Herb Drinkwater had nurtured into maturity and a world class destination had been decimated by ugly tall buildings, heavy density in areas where there used to be nice, affordable apartments. In particular, specific places to visit for entertainment such as Rawhide which I heard left town to be replaced by still more high-end condos and even more density. Sadly, the Gallery and Art District seems to have been overrun by bars which we’re told is called the "entertainment district".

I was really outraged when my wife and I decided to take a nostalgic stroll through what we remember as Old Town Scottsdale. We entered the area about 7:30 in the evening and were astounded to find bars everywhere we looked. That aside, we tried to continue our stroll to the Galleries only to be bumped and badgered by "20 Something’s" who appeared to be drunk and out of control. We even saw a couple with the girl laid out on the hood of a car with a guy "doing his thing" with her, both totally unaware of who was around or who they were offending with their gross display of total disrespect. How disgusting and very unScottsdale!

We’d had enough and went back to our relative’s home telling them of the extremely sad experience we’d had and that we’d never be back. They told us they never go there anymore either for the same reasons. We told them we would instead pay to fly them to upstate New York to visit us. Scottsdale was no longer unique in our minds because it has become Anytown, Ho Hum USA which was totally unacceptable as well as repulsive to both my wife and me.

Mom & Dad took us to the new Desert Ridge out door mall, Mesa Riverview and Tempe Marketplace which were very nice. I asked why they hadn’t been built in Scottsdale instead of the ugly big box at McDowell and Scottsdale Road. Dad was so upset he said he didn’t even want to discuss it. Mom told us later that the mayor refused two public votes to put in the hockey arena to instead give the property to ASU for 200 years which has upset the majority of the city residents and we were asked to drop the subject because it was too upsetting for Dad to talk about it.

Dad told us he had a surprise for us a day before we left for our lovely home in Fulton County near the Adirondacks. We drove up town to Casella’s Deli at McDonald and Granite Reef. We were both almost in tears as we walked in to see Joe and his wife Tina behind the same counter where we left them 23 years ago as well as there daughters Lisa, Denise & Chrissie taking tender loving care of their loyal customers returning for decades to feast on the fresh, home made fare. They wouldn’t have recognized or remembered us so we said nothing except to say we were glad they were still there.

On the wall was a sign which celebrates 31 years of the Casella Family business at the same location. They have kept all graduating class pictures from Saguaro High School on the wall for all to see also. God Bless Joe and his wonderful family!! It took us a full week to find something not ruined by your current city government.

Interestingly enough, the Adirondack area is experiencing the same problem Scottsdale apparently is but the residents of the Adirondacks have joined together to run the profiteers and out-of-touch town councils out and of some of the surrounding towns as they should in Scottsdale after seeing what we saw.

We hope, should we ever decide to visit Scottsdale again, that the current trend of helter skelter tall, ugly building will have been halted in favor of development by reason and theme, rather than pure greed and total misdirection as it certainly appears is happening to Scottsdale now.

As is happening in our beloved Adirondacks area, Scottsdale needs to get back to "of the people, by the people and for the people" governance instead of selling out to the developers which is very obvious in even just our short one week visit to Scottsdale after not being "home" for almost 23 years.

We pray that the residents of Scottsdale wake up before it’s too late.

Name withheld by request
Fulton County, Up State New York

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Well, it came as a bit of a surprise that a neighborhood activist would get an above-the-fold printing of an article, more than 500 words column, on the Op-Ed page of the Scottsdale Tribune, for of all things endorsing a candidate for City Council.

What makes it even more interesting is the fact that nobody else gets that kind of courtesy, at least so far. Let us hope that every one who writes a column for the Scottsdale Voices column in support of a particular candidate gets the same courtesy.

What am I thinking!!!! This is OZ after all and the local newspapers have done much to assist the political majority in creating OZ and all of its chaos.

Some of us dastardly activists learned a valuable lesson four years ago when we elected some of the leading clowns of the "Three Ring Circus," who are also up for re-election. For example, when a candidate such as McCullagh who claimed to be a fiscal conservative, asks residents to drive around the community with him to see and learn about neighborhood issues from property maintenance to neighborhood assemblage, and what the needs of the area are, don’t hold your breath that he will do anything positive or initiate action of any sort. He turned out to be a rubber stamp for the Mayor and a part of the council majority

Nope. McCullagh’s idea of representing neighborhoods can best be exemplified by the way he treated the Minnezona area neighborhoods where the WaterView Project is trying to be located.

He even publicly stated that he knew the apartments in the area were being allowed to run down as part of a neighborhood assemblage effort by a developer, creating a threat to the surrounding area. He excused it because those apartment residents could not help "their station in life."

Well, Scottsdale has property maintenance ordinances that address those very maintenance issues. He knew those problem properties existed because they are on the route that he takes for his daily constitutional.

It was OK with him that people were living in less than safe and healthy conditions and that those conditions impacted the area from Camelback Road to Chaparral Road and from the Canal to Miller Road.

So, you can invite that candidate for re-election to community meetings and neighborhood ride-alongs, but you can’t make him do his job or even make any semblance of a humane effort.

Should anyone question this scenario, email exchanges are available.

All of the suspects have turned in their petitions and it looks to be the merry chase is on.

The whole community is sick and tired of the petition drive business. And it is a "big" business.

When the elections are over and all parties have licked their wounds and the winners take their positions in the Kiva, I am thinking it would be a good idea to hear from the City Clerk’s office on how Scottsdale can improve the information provided to citizens who wish to take out petitions for referendum, election, and/or recall.

This City should be darned happy with City Clerk Carolyn Jagger. The lady is smart, careful and keenly aware of her community, as are all of those who work in her office.

Hats off to all.

Now, I think it would be really helpful if that Legal-Eagle Nemesis of the referendum and citizen participatory government, who represented challenges to both citizen petitions that were submitted, should be allowed to present a training session on "What Not To Do When Taking Out Petition Packets."

I know that a well seasoned legal eagle could contribute greatly to the knowledge of disgruntled residents. Of course, those residents now are just as disgruntled with him as they are with the poor government processes we have in Scottsdale.

It would make for great theatre and we could sell tickets and be able to finance an attorney to represent residents when the next challenge surfaces.

Make no mistake. If the current City Council majority gets back into office, and they continue to turn a deaf ear to citizens, and they continue to refuse to follow the General Plan and/or good government practices there will be many more challenges.

That wizened legal eagle will be laughing all the way to the bank, but that seems to be the only way the citizen voice gets heard.

Hello Ozites! Well, a few articles back I wrote a ditty about the run down commercial plaza at Roosevelt and Hayden. I told you back then how they wanted to flip from a regional shopping plaza by rezoning to one of the most intense commercial zonings you can get which is C-3 and this whole property abuts a mature neighborhood in South Scottsdale.

The case has been continued yet again, for I think the 3^rd time.

Every time this happens it just compounds the problems and lets the real light shine in on something that is going to actually work against the community in the long run.

At the last City Council meeting the only person who called this right was Councilman Bob Littlefield. He stated, for the record, and to the owner, that his property value is going to double if not triple once they get their rezoning.

Besides the fact I said long ago that there was a rat lurking in this project, something is wrong with the whole plan! There was more information that came out during the last council meeting.

The owner mentioned that at this time they have no tenant for the proposed "drive through restaurant." That should have sent up red flags to any living, breathing citizen. This "drive through restaurant" is the entire reason they are seeking rezoning by the application. You would think a tenant or even a list of tenants could be referred to.

The next issue that came up was that the owner had objections to removing the use if a check cashing facility was to wind up being the tenant. He told the city that it could be a problem because one of his customers already cashes checks.

What council did not hear was that to cash a check there patrons had to make a minimum purchase before they will cash the check and that store does not fall under the "check cashing store" criteria for the City of Scottsdale.

Even funnier was to watch Lisa Haskell’s savior, "Ron the craven weasel McCullagh," along with "way to win points in the South, Lane," advocate not having to remove the issue of a check cashing store from the development agreement. Hell, they would fine with a pawn shop in reality.

Now, here is where it gets interesting. On Friday night at the local watering hole I was approached by a person that looked familiar, but I was sure I did not know him. He looked at me, and asked, "How are you voting and do you agree we need to get rid of Manross?"

I told him two things. We need to get the North Scottsdale voters wake up to what will happen to them if they don’t get rid of Manross and the council majority during this election. The city is currently planning to double the occupancy in the north; if you don’t believe it, look at their population projections for the coming years. Secondly and more importantly, we need to elect two more people to side with Bob and Tony then we can forget about getting rid of the Queen Mother.

As we chatted I found out that this person lives in Mother Mary Land, and he is from Chicago, as well he is a commercial developer.

Apparently, he had checked into purchasing the South Scottsdale property in question, and not that long ago. His company did not buy it because the owner wanted way more than it was worth.

Here is what our council still does not get, and probably most of them never will.

This project is never going to go through under the development agreement required by the city. The land is going to flip after it gets the C-3 zoning and after that, with new owners, the development agreement won’t be worth the paper it’s written upon.

And, once again, "The Three Ring Circus" will have screwed the community in short order by intensifying the land use around another mature community.

Is that what the General Plan tells us we must do?

I think not, but it will pass with no problems come the next go around because our elected leaders, or the majority of them, are too stupid to see what is coming in the near future, or could they be expecting (remuneration) in some form for their efforts?.

Or maybe they are all having a "bright new day" experience and can’t see the forest through the umpa lumpa piles!

The hell with getting rid of Manross! Let’s elect ourselves a voting majority who will go with good planning and development instead of the umpa lumpa crap we get now.

(Michael Merrill – currently on sabbatical)

Something good is happening in the City Manager’s office at Scottsdale’s City Hall. Not so loud…..the Mayor might hear us and cast a spell on that office and take us back to the dreaded days of Dolan.

Some in the "Three Ring Circus" are surprised at the dent that Interim City Manager John Little has made dealing with the citizens. It is wonderful to see how staff has taken to his leadership, too.

Solving problems is the order of the day, not dodging them. Letting people who know their jobs and their community do the jobs that need to be done.

Along with that, long time employee Raun Keagy, who has been a guiding force in Neighborhood Services since 1991, has FINALLY, been given the job of General Manager of that Department.

Took you guys long enough to figure that one out! The job has been open for a whole year! Oops! Sorry, about that explosion. Now can we REALLY get back to neighborhood revitalization?

Scottsdale used to be a welcoming place for anyone who wanted to live and visit here, but the last eight years have been less than friendly for long time residents, small business people and families. If you are hip, cutting edge, loaded with money to live in condos and shop, go somewhere else. Scottsdale leadership does not need you, after all, the New York Times has rated us the "next South Beach."

The doors at City Hall have a standing message for concerned citizens, willing to get involved, who believe in being part of solving problems not just pointing fingers. That message: DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE BACKSIDE ON THE WAY OUT! They don’t want to talk to you or listen to your ideas. Their minds are made up and they don’t want to be confused with verifiable facts.

There is a breath of fresh air moving through those halls even before the election and it is coming from the City Managers offices.

Don’t let special interests, developers or even one group of activists color the whole agenda. Let real innovation and sustainability become part of Scottsdale’s future. Allow the unique history of Scottsdale to flourish as well as the cutting edge future. There is room for all.

Michael Merrill              Nancy Cantor
The Brutal Critic            nancyanncantor@Cox.net
F8713@aol.com

Open Letter to the Public

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have assisted me in getting on the September 2^nd Scottsdale City Council election ballot. Without your devotion to change for Scottsdale city government, this first step wouldn’t have been possible. On June 4^th, I turned in 2,599 signatures – thanks to all of you.

When I entered this race in September 2007, I made a commitment to the residents and businesses of Scottsdale to strive to achieve better government in our city. That commitment has seen me through the exhaustive hours of campaigning, collecting signatures, fundraising, and other tangential events (referendum pushes, meetings, appearances, forums), that have brought me to this point. Still, I am far from finished.

The next few months are the most critical of the campaign. Other candidates will spend countless dollars on fliers, mailers, advertisements and the like to keep their name in front of you before the September 2^nd voting date. These candidates are flush with cash and funding that have been provided by political insiders/lobbyists, special interest groups and developers who sit resident in the back pockets of our current Council majority and desire to keep their rubber stamp votes alive at the Kiva. It was the insiders and groups who paid for these candidates to get on the ballot in the first place. If you follow the money trail, you will understand how these candidates will vote if elected. Please remember this when you go to the polls on September 2^nd.

Those of us who truly desire change in our city government system number just two: Tom Giller and myself. Our campaigns are not flush with special interest funding, politically aligned families managing our campaigns, nor do we have the luxury of ex-council persons sitting in front of Mustang library acquiring signatures to place us on the ballot.

Our campaigns are grass roots efforts with lots of heart thrown in. We are real people with solid backgrounds and work experience, who have spent years involved in the trenches, helping the residents of our city. We have a deep admiration for Scottsdale and want to see it progress to the satisfaction of all those who live, work and visit here.

Our mission is a simple one: maintain and develop Scottsdale’s world-class destination status without ruining the city along the way.

Thank you again for taking the first step in helping to change Scottsdale for the better by collecting and/or signing my petition. Each and every one of you, the gatherers, the volunteers, the signatories and those who have contributed to my campaign, deserve much more than just this blurb of a thank you.

Like me, you realize and believe in the importance of change in our city’s government. You have my utmost respect and appreciation.

Nan Nesvig
Candidate, Scottsdale City Council

www.nannesvig.com
nannesvig@aol.com

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In the push to free the auto industry from its dependence on oil, all kinds of alternatives are being tried. Consider now the refreshing concept of cars that run on air.

The idea sounds simple: compress air and release it to operate a piston engine. But the execution is difficult, and in one form or another it has occupied engineers since the 19th century.

One of the latest is Guy Nègre, a Frenchman who founded Motor Development International, now MDI Enterprises, in Carros, France, in 1991. He produced his first compressed-air engine five years later. "We’ve developed 14 vehicles and have three running prototype cars," Mr. Nègre said.

In the latest of Mr. Nègre’s patented designs, compressed air in tanks below the floor is injected into the cylinders, each with two chambers. Air in the main chamber drives a piston, which drives the crankshaft, which drives the wheels. When the piston pauses, a smaller one in an expansion chamber recompresses the air and injects it back into the main chamber to make more power.

One prototype, which looks like a big version of a Smart car, can top 68 miles an hour and, at lower speeds, travel up to 120 miles without refueling. Plug the car into an outlet, and the engine, in compressor mode, will refill the tank in four hours.

Mr. Nègre’s company is also working on a dual-energy engine, or one with a burner that heats the air to increase its volume, enhancing power and range.

Experiments with compressed air in Europe date to the mid-19th century. And between 1898 and 1931, American carmakers produced seven compressed-air models, said Kim M. Miller, the librarian for the Antique Automobile Club of America. A 1931 prototype called the Meyers used an electric heater to warm the air. But there were glitches, and gasoline was so cheap it was even hard for air to compete.

To help overcome the challenges of a pure-air engine, some inventors are moving to dual-energy systems and hybrids. The Energine Corporation of South Korea is working on a design that augments an electric motor with a compressed-air engine that accelerates the car from a standstill and kicks in on hills. Compressed air recharges the electric motor’s batteries (which can also be recharged by regenerative braking, or by plugging the car in an outlet).

The car can maintain a speed of 74 m.p.h. for 30 minutes, Energine says.

The Scuderi Group, in West Springfield, Mass., has a hybrid engine design that compresses air and burns petroleum fuel in separate cylinders and uses some compressed air to extend the petroleum engine.

Sal Scuderi, president of the company, said that this "split cycle" design "eliminates traditional combustion chambers, and splits pistons into those pulling air in and compressing it, and those burning fuel and exhausting it." The company is preparing diesel and gasoline prototypes for release by 2009.

Entrepreneurial companies are not the only ones experimenting with compressed air. In 2003, Ford Motor and Tsu-Chin Tsao, an engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, presented a design for an air-gasoline hybrid that would improve fuel efficiency by about 65 percent in the city and 12 percent on the highway.

Professor Tsao said that one advantage of such hybrids is that they do not require the electronics and large electric motor and battery of a gas-electric hybrid. "However, in practical terms," he said, "there are still many hurdles to overcome."

Mr. Nègre has signed a 20 million euro (about $28 million) agreement with Tata Motors, India’s largest automaker, to deliver mono- and dual-energy vehicles in hopes of putting them on the market in India by 2009.

The Scuderi Group has raised about $15 million from friends and family and is pushing ahead "in spite of being laughed at by large investment banks at first," Mr. Scuderi said. He says he is anticipating that seed money will lead to larger investments. "Here’s a tiny firm saying we’re going to change the internal combustion engine and buck the industry," he said. "Now the larger banks are listening."

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 ~ Cantoni Confab

While watching one of Barack Obama’s campaign rallies on TV the other day, I realized that I’d seen the throngs of adoring fans somewhere before but couldn’t remember where.

Then it came to me, and a shiver went up my spine.

The thought was so disturbing that I had to make sure I wasn’t mistaken. I got on my bicycle and rode to the nearby public library. Fortunately, the video was on the shelf where I had last seen it.

Returning home, I put the video in the DVD player. Sadly, I had not been mistaken. The people at Obama’s rallies were indeed in the video. Other than fashion styles, they looked the same as they do now -- the same cheering, the same adoration, the same desire to be led, the same suspension of critical thinking.

They were young and old, male and female, working class and professional class, educated and uneducated. They were all there.

But "there" was a rally that took place 74 years ago. How could the people at that rally be at an Obama rally today? Were they ghosts?

The answer frightened me more than ghosts could. Obama’s fans were ghosts, but only in the sense that they had the same yearnings as the people in the video. Despite all of the supposed sophistication and education of people today, vast numbers of Americans still want to sacrifice their individuality and individualism on the altar of statism and collectivism, whether the socialism of the left or the nationalism of the right.

The high priest who leads them to the altar has had the same message throughout history, whether his name is Barack Obama, Sean Hannity, George W. Bush, Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, or, in the case of the video, Adolf Hitler.

Go ahead and gasp over the comparison, but please keep your mind open and continue reading to see why the comparison is not overwrought.

You might have guessed by now that the video is Leni Reifenstahl’s Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). The famous director’s famous film shows the throngs of cheering Germans at the 1934 Nuremberg Congress, where Hitler eloquently spoke about change, about unity, about real and imagined threats, and, parroting Rousseau, about the individual being subservient to the collective will.

Row after row of German youth can be seen in the film, standing at attention, shovels in hand, ready to serve in a youth corps for the good of society. Today, presidential nominee Obama has proposed a similar youth corps. His opponent, John McCain, also believes in collective service, but for nationalistic ends instead of socialistic ones.

It’s conveniently overlooked now by the mainstream media, by government K-12 schools, and by left-leaning universities; but Hitler’s National Socialism and Mussolini’s fascism were greatly admired in the early 1930s by many of America’s elites in academia, media, industry, and government, including high-level officials in the Roosevelt administration. Of course, that was before the horror of Hitler’s genocide had taken place.

Woodrow Wilson threw people in jail for sedition for speaking out against him and the First World War. FDR of course interned thousands of Japanese Americans. Both of them were masters of propaganda, and both of them make George W. Bush look like a rank amateur when it comes to deception and to violations of civil liberties and the Constitution. But, strangely, Bush is vilified and they are honored by the rewriters of history.

There is absolutely no indication that Obama will infringe on civil liberties. He certainly isn’t a jingoist or racist, although his former close friend, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a racist, judging by his sermons. But there are many indications that underneath his talk of hope and change beats the heart of a collectivist, if not a socialist. He believes in using the power of the state to reorder society in his likeness.

To centralize power, he also invents or exaggerates problems, such as global warming, globalization, and the state of the economy. And he blames free enterprise and individualism for problems caused by the government, such as the cost of health insurance, the pitiful academic performance of American kids, and the social pathologies in inner cities. Then he markets himself as a leader who can bring people together under his collective umbrella to solve the problems.

Sound familiar?

Forgetting that they have seen and heard this before, the ghosts cheer, applaud, and swoon. They frighten the hell out of me. 

An author, columnist and moron, Mr. Cantoni can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.

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~ Information You Can Use

Just click on the logos below to go to these websites.

Send our Brave Troops "Something from Home", Click on  Links below.

Gathering of  Eagles Website was launched 2/9/07. Click on the Logo above for more information on how they are protecting America's Memorials.

~ UPDATE!! A "Must See" for All Americans

Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.

This is NOT for Children.

I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for  nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,

 www.obsessionthemovie.com

If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.

The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY

The website below gives some history of Terrorist attacks:

http://patriotfiles.org/civilizationcalls.htm

This website tell you what REALLY happened:

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened

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~ Arizona Tax Revolt

~ Prop 13 Arizona

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:

If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.

~Continuing Light Rail Information

The Scottsdale Citizens Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for more questions and answers at  www.norailforscottsdale.com .

================================================================

Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.

     Goldwater Institute Report

     American Dream Coalition

    The Public Purpose

If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.

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~ For Continuing Information on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.

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 ~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?

These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.

Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx

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The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.

The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community.  By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.

No funds from the SLDF will or can be used for any political purpose.

Contributions shall be kept confidential as permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax deductible.

The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in Scottsdale.  The City Council action was based on a legal opinion which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it. The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct of the Mayor and Council.

Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:

72^nd & Shea                    7337 E. Shea Blvd #120                480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral     7908 E. Chaparral # C-113            480-949-0069
Horizon                            14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright         480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch          10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131       480-767-2060
Kierland Village              6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133     480-315-2905

There are many other branches throughout the Valley.